Hobbies And Interests
Moths and the Rainforest
Tropical rainforests are known for their extremely diverse populations of plants and animals, and particularly insects. There are thousands of individual species of moth in the world's tropical rainforests, most of them unclassified by science. Moths fill much the same ecological niche as butterflies, but with a reversed diurnal clock: moths are nocturnal, while butterflies are active during the day. In contrast to the disruptive camouflage and warning colors of tropical butterflies, moths are often colored in such a way as to allow them to blend in with the forest floor or the trunk of a tree during the day.
Pollination
Moths are highly effective pollinators, with a long tongue-like proboscis capable of lapping up nectar from the deep, trumpet-shaped flowers of tropical orchids. In the tropical rainforest, many species of orchid have a species of moth that is uniquely suited to pollinate it. For the moth's part, its proboscis is of such a length and design that it can only effectively feed on a single species of orchid. This allows the flower to protect its nectar from non-pollinating nectar thieves such as ants, while also preventing undesirable cross-pollination between competing flower species.
Forest Control
While adult moths are strict nectar-eaters, their larvae are often voracious herbivores. Moth caterpillars are often capable of devouring tremendous amounts of greenery in preparation for their metamorphosis. In a fast-growing environment like the rainforest, this means that weaker plants are killed by overfeeding, while stronger specimens survive and reproduce. This improves the overall fitness of the surviving plants. Likewise, moth larvae with broad eating habits will tend to thin out plants that are much more common than others, maintaining a healthy balance of species.
The Food Chain
Moths are an important food source for many predators, including lizards and birds, who discover and devour them during the moths' dormant day cycle. Bats rely heavily on moths as part of their food source, and may devour their own body weight in moths in a single night's hunting. Bats are themselves important pollinators and seed-spreaders in the rainforest, and occupy their own vital link in the food chain.